"thyme" news and stories

Looking for a holiday gift for the food lover in your life? Why not get them this Culinary Three-Herb Wreath! Made from thyme, bay and rosemary, it has a decidedly festive feel while still being practical for year-round use. The herbs are safe to use in cooking and can last up to a year (depending on how fast you incorporate them into your soups and stews). If that doesn't have you convinced, know that a portion of the proceeds from this wreath go to fund Oceania, a non-profit working to save the ocean and care for sea life.

[via Green Daily]

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Like the folks over at The Grub Report, I've never been a big fan of squash. My sister always makes it on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and after the one person who eats squash has some, it just sits there in its sad little bowl, lonely, getting all cold and runny.

However, I might try this recipe for Butternut Squash-Tossed Pasta. I think it has enough other ingredients where the flavor of the squash will be lessened a bit. It also uses Butternut Squash from Trader Joe's, though I'm going to assume you can use any brand (the Trader Joe's Gorgonzola-Walnut Tortellini is something I'd definitely use, however).

Here it is April 13 and I'm ashamed to suddenly realize that I didn't cook chicken once during the winter. Oh, I made plenty of dishes that had chicken in it (mixed with pasta, with vegetables, with rice), but they were made with Perdue Short Cuts, chicken that was already cooked an cut up for me. But I didn't actually buy chicken from the store and make something myself. This recipe is going to change that, if for the only reason it contains breakfast cereal.

Bartenders don't usually use a whole range of vegetables in their mixing unless they are particularly fond of bloody marys and celery garnishes. More and more often, however, fresh herbs are cropping up in cocktails. The Seattle Times had an interesting look inside a bartender's herb garden this weekend. Herbs can generally be grown indoors and require only a small amount of care relative to maintaining a whole garden. The taste of a fresh herb is unmatched and, if you're going to be using them frequently, they are nice to have at hand without a trip to the store. Their suggested list of herbs and cocktails, which is practical for pros and weekend mixologists alike, includes: 

• Spearmint, for classic mojitos and anything that needs a refreshing touch.
• Basil, can also be included with mint in a mojito
• Thyme, adds a layer of flavor to a peach Bellini.
• Rosemary, add to a gin cosmopolitans.
• Sage, works well with tequila and "will raise your margarita to the next level."

They also recommend cilantro and tarragon, but for me, mint or basil is a better choice for an addition to summer lemonade than cilantro, which the Times suggests. Basil, thyme, rosemary and sage can all be used in cooking, too, though I don't necessarily endorse adding spearmint to, say, a grilled chicken dish. And a word to the novice gardeners: basil grows quickly and aggressively. Fortunately, you can make a killer pesto with the leftovers.

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It's the time of year to think about preserving the fragrant bounty of herbs in the garden. The Detroit Free Press has a piece on which herbs can be frozen and which ones need to be dried. According to Jean Riggs of the Sunshine Farm and Garden rosemary, sage and thyme can be dried or frozen. Tarragon, chives and oregano do well in the freezer but basil and cilantro, which have a high water content can get mushy when frozen. She also talks about how to dry herbs. Herbs can be air-dried in bunches or bag dried by tying a paper bag around the bunch and cutting holes in the side. The article also recommends doing what we should all do with basil at the end of the summer, make batches and batches of pesto and then freeze it for the basil-less months ahead. The same can also be done with cilantro although when I make cilantro pesto I swap out the pine nuts for walnuts.

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